Manufacturers sell below production cost to offload N2trn unsold inventory

Nigerian manufacturers are increasingly selling products below production cost to clear nearly N2 trillion worth of unsold inventory. According to Segun Ajayi-Kadir, Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the move is driven by weak consumer demand and soaring production costs. Manufacturers are absorbing losses to keep factories running, while high commercial bank lending rates (30-35%) make borrowing unsustainable.